Philly to offer Smoove deal starting at 11 mil per

[Guest]

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It is unlikely because Josh Smith will be a BYC making the deal very very hard.

How is Smoove's situation different from JJ's in Phoenix? I thought JJ was coming off his rookie contract at that point, just like Smoove is now.

We had space to sign JJ outright. So when looking at a SnT with Smoove, you have to have a team that is under the cap by a large enough amount to absorb Smoove's contract.

Same situation, just we were lucky enough to have cap space with JJ.

[GST]

Thanks, that makes it a little more understandable.

[NJHAWK]

What if Memphis ( and I know its unlikely ) signs Iggy to an offer sheet similar to the one that folks think Smoove will get from Philly. Lets say Memphis offers Iggy a 5 year deal just like we gave JJ, 5 YEARS 70 MILL. Can Philly still offer Smoove over 11 mill if they match on Iggy? By the way dont automatically count Memphis out of a big free agent offer to Iggy or Smoove just because they dumped Gasol. I highly doubt anyone would have expected us to blow JJ ( who wasnt a star at the time ) out of the water with that offer when we were rebuilding either.

[oiatlhawksfan]

I seriously doubt Sund won't be do everything he can to convince ASG to match this.

[pimp]

What happened if Philly tries to give Josh 20 million of the contract upfront , like we did with JJ?

[Diesel]

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Chris Broussard is reporting Philly prolly wont get Brand because Brand wont take a paycut from his 16 mill a season. He said they are poised to offer Smoove a deal starting at 11 mill per year with 8% increase every year. He also wrote that he heard whispers the Hawks dont want to go past 11 mill.

Actually, that would be good for us.

We would match. Giving Smoove 11 Million at 10% per year raises...

That's 5 years, 60.5 million. I think all involved would be pleased with that deal.

If Philly offered, Smoove accepted, and I were ASG, I would send Philly a thank you card!

[Diesel]

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How is Smoove's situation different from JJ's in Phoenix? I thought JJ was coming off his rookie contract at that point, just like Smoove is now.

It's actually just like it, with two exceptions:

1. Smith is more of a post player than JJ was, and the Hawks should expect to pay more for him.

2. As long as he's paid, I can't see Josh wanting out of Atlanta the way that JJ wanted out of Phoenix.

As somebody else stated, Josh wants to stay in Atlanta (I believe), nobody talked to him after the hiring of Woody.

But one other thing is that JJ had a more defined offensive game. JJ was an 18 ppg in Phoenix but he was consistent. He had already shown that he could take his offense to the next level. Smoove's offense is yet defined. What I mean by that is that he can be easily shut down.

[Diesel]

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What happened if Philly tries to give Josh 20 million of the contract upfront , like we did with JJ?

The only way that Philly could do this with their salary structure is if they got rid of their free agents altogether. When we did it with Phoenix, we were rebuilding with no FAs to resign. Payton wasn't coming back.

[Swish]

NJHAWK, you have a link for that?

I still don't see that the Sixers can keep Smoove and Iggy. Two rumors now about Smith!

I disagree; I think JS is a big draw. Anyone who has one a dunk contest and is as athletic as he is sells tickets. Its simple.

[khaos7]

I believe too many bloggers underestimate the impact of letting Smith walk away. The city of Atlanta has the notorious reputation of letting good talent walk. Fair or unfair, we've always had that reputation. If Smith walks and all you get back is a "solid center" and Smith's game develops elsewhere (think Diaw), this will add to the perception that this team is being run on the cheap and isn't interested in winning. It's funny, Smith is viewed soooooo differently by other cities than ours. Read blogs and you'll see he's on several teams' wish lists. That's a two sided coin, however. We see him every night, so many of us tend to focus on what he can't do. Other cities see him every so often (and on ESPN highlights) and are moved by what he can/could do. I submit that because he's only 22, focusing on what he can't do is just as dangerous as being enamored by what he can do. I believe in being fiscally responsible. However, Billy Knight played a dangerous game last year by not extending him. One undebatable fact is, Smith has improved every year. Bilas said he could be a bust. He proved he belonged in the league. Through self motivation, he sought the help of Hakeem and Calvin Murphy in the offseason to develop his game. Given what he has done, I'd argue there is more to suggest that he will only get better than there would be to say he will decline. My only gripe with his play thus far (turnovers and all) is his attitude at times. That said, I stress he's still only 22.

I'll say this for those who think letting Josh Smith walk won't impact ticket sales. I work with young people at my church. I've never heard the young guys at my church talk about any Hawks player for the last decade (other than Jason Terry to a much lesser degree). Carmelo this. Vince that. McGrady this. Billups that. Lebron. Kobe. In no way am I comparing Josh to those guys. However, in recent years, I've noticed he's caught the attention of several of the young guys I work with. As good as Joe is, he isn't the player I've noticed young people talking about. I don't want to overpay. However, the Hawks better be careful with how they handle this situation. you don't want a Danny Manning/Dominique Wilkens-lite situation going on down here.

[Swish]

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I believe too many bloggers underestimate the impact of letting Smith walk away. The city of Atlanta has the notorious reputation of letting good talent walk. Fair or unfair, we've always had that reputation. If Smith walks and all you get back is a "solid center" and Smith's game develops elsewhere (think Diaw), this will add to the perception that this team is being run on the cheap and isn't interested in winning. It's funny, Smith is viewed soooooo differently by other cities than ours. Read blogs and you'll see he's on several teams' wish lists. That's a two sided coin, however. We see him every night, so many of us tend to focus on what he can't do. Other cities see him every so often (and on ESPN highlights) and are moved by what he can/could do. I submit that because he's

only

22, focusing on what he can't do is just as dangerous as being enamored by what he can do. I believe in being fiscally responsible. However, Billy Knight played a dangerous game last year by not extending him. One undebatable fact is, Smith has improved every year. Bilas said he could be a bust. He proved he belonged in the league. Through self motivation, he sought the help of Hakeem and Calvin Murphy in the offseason to develop his game. Given what he has done, I'd argue there is more to suggest that he will only get better than there would be to say he will decline. My only gripe with his play thus far (turnovers and all) is his attitude at times. That said, I stress he's still only 22.

I'll say this for those who think letting Josh Smith walk won't impact ticket sales. I work with young people at my church. I've never heard the young guys at my church talk about any Hawks player for the last decade (other than Jason Terry to a much lesser degree). Carmelo this. Vince that. McGrady this. Billups that. Lebron. Kobe. In no way am I comparing Josh to those guys. However, in recent years, I've noticed he's caught the attention of several of the young guys I work with. As good as Joe is, he isn't the player I've noticed young people talking about. I don't want to overpay. However, the Hawks better be careful with how they handle this situation. you don't want a Danny Manning/Dominique Wilkens-lite situation going on down here.

Agreed! This is what I've been trying to tell everyone. BTW, it would be waaay worse than Diaw.

We need to take off our shades and see how other teams look at him. The Pistons want him, the Sixers want him, Spurs fans want him, and those are all playoff teams. We've got a diamond in the rough here and Sund had better get some cojones and just sign him. Of course, if in fact he is a puppet, then we have larger problems.

[exodus]

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Chris Broussard is reporting Philly prolly wont get Brand because Brand wont take a paycut from his 16 mill a season. He said they are poised to offer Smoove a deal starting at 11 mill per year with 8% increase every year. He also wrote that he heard whispers the Hawks dont want to go past 11 mill.

Philly is the worst perimeter shooting team in the NBA and they want to spend big bucks on Smith, a notoriously poor jump shooter? I don't see the logic there.

There are sure to be a lot of rumors flying around about Smith over the next few weeks. I don't plan on taking them that seriously.

[Packfill]

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The Vick/Smith comparison doesn't really work for me either and I don't think Smoove is that big of a draw (compared to Vick who was a HUGE draw). That said, if the Hawks let him go it will be an utterly demoralizing development and will really hurt attendance.

I think it would hurt the Hawks in the win column as well.

Hopefully, the ASG steps up to the table and matches.

[khaos7]

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Chris Broussard is reporting Philly prolly wont get Brand because Brand wont take a paycut from his 16 mill a season. He said they are poised to offer Smoove a deal starting at 11 mill per year with 8% increase every year. He also wrote that he heard whispers the Hawks dont want to go past 11 mill.

Philly is the worst perimeter shooting team in the NBA and they want to spend big bucks on Smith, a notoriously poor jump shooter? I don't see the logic there.

There are sure to be a lot of rumors flying around about Smith over the next few weeks. I don't plan on taking them that seriously.

Given that this is Hawksville, I will take the rumors as seriously as I did the Shelden Williams/predraft promise rumors from a few years back. We see how that turned out.

[exodus]

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Chris Broussard is reporting Philly prolly wont get Brand because Brand wont take a paycut from his 16 mill a season. He said they are poised to offer Smoove a deal starting at 11 mill per year with 8% increase every year. He also wrote that he heard whispers the Hawks dont want to go past 11 mill.

Philly is the worst perimeter shooting team in the NBA and they want to spend big bucks on Smith, a notoriously poor jump shooter? I don't see the logic there.

There are sure to be a lot of rumors flying around about Smith over the next few weeks. I don't plan on taking them that seriously.

Given that this is Hawksville, I will take the rumors as seriously as I did the Shelden Williams/predraft promise rumors from a few years back. We see how that turned out.

That rumor was about BK, and we know how clueless he was. It was also reported by several differenct sources.

[HawkNJersey]

I went to all the games the Hawks playey in Philly and East Rutherford, I think some of our fans are underestimating the league wide interest in Smoove.

[exodus]

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I went to all the games the Hawks playey in Philly and East Rutherford, I think some of our fans are underestimating the league wide interest in Smoove.

I have no doubt that the fans are interested in Smith. The real issue is how interested the GMs of Philly and Memphis are in Smith.

Philly's big weakness is their lack of perimeter shooting. They also need a reliable post scorer. They already have a shotblocker and are a tough defensive team.

I don't see how Smith fits there.

[Admin]

Well if you truly believe, as some do, that it's Woody's fault that Smoove tries to be a 3pt shooter and that he should be in the paint and working down there then perhaps a "good" coach like Mo Cheeks will get Smoove to be that post scorer that you are referring to.

Also, there's nothing wrong with adding another shot blocker and trying to become better defensively. I'm sure if we could reasonably add Dalembert without giving up Smoove we would do it.

[khaos7]

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I went to all the games the Hawks playey in Philly and East Rutherford, I think some of our fans are underestimating the league wide interest in Smoove.

I couldn't agree more. Other cities would love to get this guy. Granted, he has flaws and we see him every night. However, the guy is a playmaker and he's young. I believe he's as eager to clean up his game as we are to see him do it. IMHO, if we do a SNT, we'd better get more than solid role players for him. After making the playoffs, that's the last thing we need.

[Admin]

I can only speak for my friends here in Houston but Josh Smith is definitely becoming a more common name when we talk basketball, especially after the playoffs. Remember when Tayshaun had that awesome block where he ran the guy down from behind and blocked his shot on the break and how everyone remembered talked about that? Well I think that Smoove has been talked about like that for some of his playoff blocks (and dunks). We absolutely cannot let him go, but if we do we have to get back a young player with potential (and some performance) AND a lotto pick or another young star on his level.